Cable TV
IMCL sees 11% revenue growth in FY19
MUMBAI: IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMCL) is hoping to achieve a positive profit after tax for the financial year 2019-20. In FY 2019, the company’s subscription revenue grew by 11 per cent and subscriber base by 10 per cent over FY 2018.
Hinduja Venture Chairman Ashok P Hinduja commented in its annual report 2018-19, “IMCL along with its subsidiary companies has an active subscriber base of 5.1 million. This is expected to grow substantially in the coming years. With all these positive developments, IMCL is expected to return a positive profit after tax in the years ahead.”
During the year gone by in 2018-19, the NXT Digital and IN Digital – distribution platforms of IMCL have taken giant strides not only in terms of the subscriber base but also in terms of its subscription revenue.
Sharing his view on the TRAI new tariff order, Hinduja said, “Mandating a minimum assured distribution fee to the distribution platforms like IMCL from the broadcasters, NTO brings in a new regime that largely benefits digital platform operators (DPO) like IMCL to retain an operating margin as against the previous model wherein IMCL was effectively subsidising the broadcaster costs to the consumers.”
He further said that the successful implementation of the new tariff order by IMCL while simultaneously ensuring that there is least disruption to customer service has been very well recognised by the industry and all its stakeholders.
During the year 2018-19, the company introduced hybrid high definition set top boxes in the market for the first time. It also introduced VAS services channels – branded “NXT Services” across multiple genres and for all age groups – a bouquet which is very popular among consumers.
IMCL has already signed up half a million subscribers on managed services model whereby small DPOs can operate profitably by using the infrastructure of IMCL on an opex model.
During the year under review, IMCL posted a positive operating profit in the last quarter of the year. The company also informed that it has achieved a collection to billing ratio at 99.5 per cent which is highest in the industry.
Cable TV
Hathway Cable appoints Gurjeev Singh Kapoor as CEO
Leadership change comes as cable TV faces shrinking subscriber base and modest earnings pressure
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable and Datacom has tapped industry veteran Gurjeev Singh Kapoor as chief executive officer, marking a leadership pivot at a time when India’s cable television business is under mounting strain.
Kapoor will take over from Tavinderjit Singh Panesar, who is set to retire in August after a long innings with the company. Panesar, chief executive since 2023, has held multiple leadership roles at Hathway, including his latest stint beginning in 2022.
Kapoor brings more than three decades of experience in media and entertainment. He most recently led distribution at The Walt Disney Company’s Star India business, now part of JioStar. His career spans television distribution and affiliate partnerships, with stints at Sony Pictures Networks India, Discovery Communications and Zee Entertainment.
Panesar, with over three decades in the industry, has worked across strategic planning, distribution and business development in media, broadcasting and manufacturing. His past associations include ESPN Star Sports, Star India, Apollo Tyres and JK Industries.
The transition lands as the cable sector grapples with structural disruption. Traditional operators are losing ground to streaming platforms, while telecom and broadband players tighten the squeeze with bundled offerings.
An EY report estimates India’s pay-TV base could shrink by a further 30 to 40 million households by 2030, taking the total down to 71 to 81 million. The slide follows a loss of nearly 40 million homes between 2018 and 2024, a contraction that has already wiped out more than 37,000 jobs in the local cable operator ecosystem.
Hathway’s numbers reflect the strain. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 93 crore for FY25, down from Rs 99 crore a year earlier. Revenue inched up to Rs 2,040 crore from Rs 1,981 crore. As of December 2025, it had about 4.7 million cable TV subscribers and roughly 1.02 million broadband users.
Kapoor steps in with a familiar brief but a shrinking playbook. In a market where viewers are cutting cords faster than companies can reinvent them, the new chief executive inherits a business fighting to stay plugged in.
